Keaton Nankivil believes almost everybody weighing in on Vander Blue's decision to play for Marquette is taking a simple situation and making it too complicated.

Like blaming University of Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan and saying he needs to change how he recruits if he wants to get a commitment from a big-time recruit such as Blue, the Madison Memorial standout guard.

"For someone like Vander, it's not anything personal," said Nankivil, the Badgers' 6-foot-8 junior forward who is a Memorial alum. "Vander is an individual and he made his decision. I think it's unfair for people to say it's anybody's fault."

Nankivil is one of the exceptions to the rule that all of Memorial's best basketball players must attend Marquette. Wesley Matthews just completed his eligibility at the Milwaukee campus, Jeronne Maymon is a freshman and Blue will play there starting next year.

"He obviously has Jeronne there and I know they are real close," said Nankivil as he offered some reasons for Blue's decision to attend Marquette. "Just knowing Vander's game and the way his game has come on, the Big East is an enticing thing for him. Again, it's his decision. If he's happy with it, that is what is most important."

Memorial coach Steve Collins agreed with Nankivil and was surprised Ryan is being blamed for Blue's decision. Collins watched Ryan compete with outstanding recruiters such as Florida's Billy Donovan and UConn's Jim Calhoun for Blue's services and he said Ryan was as good as all of them.

"Bo's getting a bad rap. I think he's a great recruiter. And the UW staff was as active a recruiting staff as any I've seen, to be honest with you," said Collins. He laughed and added, "If you know what's going through a 17-year-old's head, let me know. We can make a lot of money."

Besides Blue's friendship with Maymon, Collins also believes Blue wants to get away from the pressure of playing in his hometown. Marquette was a good location because it is still close enough for his family to attend his games.

"Our program is so high-profile and there's already pressure," Collins added. "And people have known about Vander since he was a sophomore. That's all I know. I don't have all the answers. Keaton would have as good an idea as anybody."

Nankivil picked Wisconsin over Marquette and Boston College. He based his decision on academics and location to his family. He also liked Ryan's message.

"He's the kind of coach who will be real with you. He's not here to say, 'This is what we're going to give you.' He's a very real person. Some people see it and like it and some people don't," said Nankivil, who was speaking during the team's media day at the Kohl Center Wednesday.

Nankivil said Wisconsin likes to recruit athletes who play like Ryan coaches and how the coach used to play.

"With coach Ryan, you know he's a fighter and a scrapper. When you look at guys like Tim Jarmusz, you can just see it. There are people who come in without that mentality and I might have been one of those people. But I feel like I've come a long way in that area," said Nankivil.

"The thing people know about Wisconsin is that we have the characteristics of our coach," he continued. "It's something to take pride in."

Senior point guard Trevon Hughes said Wisconsin narrows the number of players it recruits by making character an issue. The pool of recruits is further drained after the players look at what they must do academically at Wisconsin.

"That's what kind of hurts," Hughes said. "We don't take any shortcuts with academics and that scares most of the athletes away."

Hughes smiled after being asked if the academic side of Wisconsin is that difficult.

"That's the main thing," he said. "You have to apply yourself."

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